The Federal Capital Territory Administration has signed 26,272 Certificates of Occupancy since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office, officials announced Sunday, a figure that is 17,575 higher than the total issued in the 13 years between 2010 and 2023.
The FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, signed the 26,272 certificates as part of efforts to improve the ease of doing business in the FCT under the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda, according to a statement by Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Public Communications and Social Media.
Between 2010 and 2023, the FCT Administration produced and signed 8,697 Certificates of Occupancy. A breakdown shows that 5,500 were signed during the five-and-a-half-year administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, while 3,197 were signed during the eight-year administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Olayinka said many of the beneficiaries of the current 26,272 certificates received their land allocations more than 10 years ago but had been unable to obtain title documents.
“Certificate of Occupancy functions as trusted collateral for commercial loans, mortgages, or business expansion capital,” the statement said. “Inability of property owners to get Certificates of Occupancy when needed is one of the challenges facing small and medium businesses, as it restricts access to funding.”
To address the backlog, the FCT Administration said it has streamlined the processing timeline. Land allottees can now receive their C-of-O within two weeks of completing all necessary payments.
“The moment necessary payments are made, land allottees can now get their C-of-O within two weeks,” Olayinka said. “Also, an automated notification has been introduced to ensure that land allottees are informed when their documents are ready for collection.”
He attributed delays under previous administrations to systemic inefficiencies that discouraged allottees from completing payments.
The current administration has also recorded higher numbers in related land transactions. In the last three years under President Tinubu, the FCT Administration granted 2,521 Consents to Assign and 177 Consents to Mortgage.
By comparison, the Jonathan administration granted 753 Consents to Assign and 180 Consents to Mortgage, while the Buhari administration granted 684 Consents to Assign and 164 Consents to Mortgage over eight years.
A Consent to Assign is the legal approval required when a property is being sold or when loan agreements are being transferred. A Consent to Mortgage is the official approval required before a property can be used as collateral for a loan
